Paul’s Water Kefir Recipe

1. Use Scoby culture, often grown on a raw cane sugar medium.  We use coconut syrup. The Internet has many sources.
2. Put the cultures in a small coffee filter strain bag. Tie off the bag so that it does not get directly into the water culture medium.
3. Use a one gallon wide mouth jar to make the water kefir. Fill the jar approximately ¾ – ⅞ inch full with purified water.
4. Add fresh or dried fruits to the water culture medium. Good fruits to use are cranberries, lemons, fresh berries, cherries, pears, apples, dried or fresh figs, organic whenever possible. Add the juice of ½ to 1 full lemon or lime. Use “tart” tasting fruits.
5. You can also use goji berries, gooseberries, mangos, dates, Chinese jujubes.
6. Add ¼ – ½ cup per gallon of organic liquid coconut palm syrup, coconut palm sugar, date sugar, or evaporated cane sugar.
7. Other additions can include coconut, cinnamon, vanilla, cardamom. These ingredients add complexity to the kefir.
8. Place the lid tightly on the jar and shake well. After shaking, loosen the jar lid slightly if needed.
9. Keep checking – best flavor is to culture without fermenting. A fresh taste is best.
10. The sugars with fruits in water with cultures creates a good beverage in approximately 7 days. To make the cultures more like a soda, decant (pour off) at 3 – 4 days in nice jars. Summer is faster; winter slower.
11. When bottling – mix with Stevia (6 – 8 drops in quart sized bottles) as needed. If the cultures are  concentrated, add a little purified water to each ¾ – 1 quart bottle. Bottle and label.
12. Refrigerate and enjoy!